Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Regarding Listing and Trading Shares of AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF, 37498-37502 [2010-15749]

Download as PDF 37498 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 29, 2010 / Notices A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–62344; File No. SR– NYSEArca–2010–57] Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Regarding Listing and Trading Shares of AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF June 21, 2010. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 notice is hereby given that on June 16, 2010, NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (‘‘Managed Fund Shares’’): AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s Web site at https://www.nyse.com, at the Exchange’s principal office and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES4 II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements. 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). U.S.C. 78a. 3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 2 15 VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:55 Jun 28, 2010 Jkt 220001 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following Managed Fund Shares 4 (‘‘Shares’’) under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600: AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF (the ‘‘Fund’’).5 The Shares will be offered by AdvisorShares Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’), a statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and registered with the Commission as an open-end management investment company.6 The investment advisor to the Fund is AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the ‘‘Advisor’’). WCM Investment Management (‘‘WCM’’) is the sub-advisor (‘‘Sub-Advisor’’) to the Fund and the portfolio manager. The Sub-Advisor selects securities for the Fund in which 4 A Managed Fund Share is a security that represents an interest in an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) (‘‘1940 Act’’) organized as an open-end investment company or similar entity that invests in a portfolio of securities selected by its investment advisor consistent with its investment objectives and policies. In contrast, an open-end investment company that issues Investment Company Units, listed and traded on the Exchange under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3), seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specific foreign or domestic stock index, fixed income securities index or combination thereof. 5 The Commission previously approved listing and trading on the Exchange of the following actively managed funds under Rule 8.600. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR– NYSEArca–2008–31) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve actively-managed funds of the WisdomTree Trust); 59826 (April 28, 2009), 74 FR 20512 (May 4, 2009) (SR–NYSEArca– 2009–22) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF); 60975 (November 10, 2009) (SR–NYSEArca– 2009–83) (order approving listing of Grail American Beacon International Equity ETF). The Exchange previously filed a proposed rule change relating to listing on the Exchange of the AdvisorShares WCM/ BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF in File No. SR–NYSEArca–2010–07. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61642 (March 3, 2010), 75 FR 11216 (March 10, 2010). No comments were received on the proposal. The Exchange withdrew the proposed rule change on April 9, 2010. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61953 (April 21, 2010), 75 FR 22169 (April 27, 2010). 6 The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On April 23, 2010, the Trust filed with the Commission Post-Effective Amendment No. 5 to Form N–1A under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a), and under the 1940 Act relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333–157876 and 811–22110) (the ‘‘Registration Statement’’). The Trust has also filed an Amended Application for an Order under Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act for exemptions from various provisions of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder (File No. 812– 13677 dated May 14, 2010) (‘‘Exemptive Application’’). The description of the operation of the Trust and the Fund herein is based on the Registration Statement. PO 00000 Frm 00124 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 to invest pursuant to an ‘‘active’’ management strategy for security selection and portfolio construction. The Fund will periodically change the composition of its portfolio to best meet its investment objective. Neither the Advisor nor the Sub-Advisor is affiliated with a broker-dealer.7 According to the Registration Statement, the Fund’s investment objective is long-term capital appreciation above international benchmarks such as the BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index, the Fund’s primary benchmark, and the MSCI EAFE Index, the Fund’s secondary benchmark. WCM seeks to achieve the Fund’s investment objective by selecting a portfolio of U.S. traded securities of non-U.S. organizations included in the BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index. The BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index predominantly includes American Depositary Receipts (‘‘ADRs’’) and in addition includes other Depositary Receipts (‘‘DRs’’), which include Global Depositary Receipts (‘‘GDRs’’), Euro Depositary Receipts (‘‘Euro DRs’’) and New York Shares (‘‘NYSs’’).8 7 With respect to the Fund, the Exchange represents that the Advisor, as the investment advisor of the Fund, as well as the Sub-Advisor to the Fund and their related personnel, are subject to Investment Advisers Act Rule 204A–1. This Rule specifically requires the adoption of a code of ethics by an investment advisor to include, at a minimum: (i) Standards of business conduct that reflect the firm’s/personnel fiduciary obligations; (ii) provisions requiring supervised persons to comply with applicable federal securities laws; (iii) provisions that require all access persons to report, and the firm to review, their personal securities transactions and holdings periodically as specifically set forth in Rule 204A–1; (iv) provisions requiring supervised persons to report any violations of the code of ethics promptly to the chief compliance officer (‘‘CCO’’) or, provided the CCO also receives reports of all violations, to other persons designated in the code of ethics; and (v) provisions requiring the investment advisor to provide each of the supervised persons with a copy of the code of ethics with an acknowledgement by said supervised persons. In addition, Rule 206(4)– 7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful for an investment advisor to provide investment advice to clients unless such investment advisor has (i) adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation, by the investment advisor and its supervised persons, of the Advisers Act and the Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii) implemented, at a minimum, an annual review regarding the adequacy of the policies and procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (i) above and the effectiveness of their implementation; and (iii) designated an individual (who is a supervised person) responsible for administering the policies and procedures adopted under subparagraph (i) above. 8 According to the Registration Statement, DRs, which include ADRs, GDRs, Euro DRs and NYSs, are negotiable securities that generally represent a non-U.S. company’s publicly traded equity or debt. Depositary Receipts may be purchased in the U.S. secondary trading market. They may trade freely, just like any other security, either on an exchange or in the over-the-counter market. Although E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 29, 2010 / Notices emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES4 The Investment Process According to the Registration Statement, WCM employs a team approach through Investment Strategy Group, consisting of four senior investment professionals (the ‘‘Portfolio Managers’’). This team establishes portfolio guidelines for sector and industry analysis and develops the Fund’s portfolio. The Portfolio Managers analyze the major trends in the global economy in order to identify those economic sectors and industries that are most likely to benefit. According to the Registration Statement, typical themes incorporated in the Portfolio Managers’ investment process include demographics, global commerce, outsourcing, the growing global middle class and the proliferation of technology. A portfolio strategy is then implemented that will best capitalize on these investment themes and subsequent expected growth of the underlying assets. The Fund’s portfolio will typically have fewer than 30 companies. All buy and sell decisions are made by the Portfolio Managers. Portfolio Construction According to the Registration Statement, WCM seeks non-U.S. domiciled quality growth businesses with superior growth prospects, high returns on invested capital and low or no debt, among other characteristics, as described in the Registration Statement. WCM focuses its attention on conventional growth sectors such as technology, consumer discretionary and staples, and healthcare. The Fund utilizes quantitative analysis that entails backward-looking screens to help narrow the non-U.S. universe of companies in which the Fund invests. The Fund looks for companies with market capitalization of $3.5 billion or greater within traditional growth sectors, and that have high returns on invested capital; low or no debt; high gross, operating margins; and a history of sustainable growth. Typical portfolio construction would entail exposure to 15 or more industries with initial positions of approximately 2–5%; maximum position size of approximately 10%; maximum sector size of approximately 45%; maximum industry exposure of approximately 15%; and maximum emerging markets exposure of approximately 35%. The Fund will under normal circumstances have at least 80% of its typically denominated in U.S. dollars, Depositary Receipts can also be denominated in Euros. Depositary Receipts can trade on all U.S. stock exchanges as well as on many European stock exchanges. VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:55 Jun 28, 2010 Jkt 220001 total assets invested in ADRs. The Fund may invest in equity securities, including common and preferred stock, warrants, convertible securities and Master Limited Partnerships. The Fund’s portfolio will consist primarily of ADRs and the Fund will not invest in non-U.S. equity securities outside of U.S. markets. According to the Registration Statement, the composition of the Fund’s portfolio, on a continual basis, will be subject to the following: (1) Component stocks that in the aggregate account for at least 90% of the weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum market value of at least $100 million; (2) Component stocks that in the aggregate account for at least 70% of the weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum global monthly trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum global notional volume traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last six months; (3) A minimum of 20 component stocks of which the most heavily weighted component stock shall not exceed 25% of the weight of the portfolio, and the five most heavily weighted component stocks shall not exceed 60% of the weight of the portfolio; and (4) Each non-U.S. equity security underlying ADRs held by the Fund will be listed and traded on an exchange that has last-sale reporting. In addition, the Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. For this purpose, ‘‘illiquid securities’’ are securities that the Fund may not sell or dispose of within seven days in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which the Fund has valued the securities. According to the Registration Statement, the Fund may not purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments issued by persons that purchase or sell commodities or commodities contracts; but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing, selling and entering into financial futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of securities, interest rates and currencies), options on financial futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of securities, interest rates and currencies), warrants, swaps, forward contracts, foreign currency spot and forward contracts or other derivative PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 37499 instruments that are not related to physical commodities.9 The Fund, from time to time, in the ordinary course of business, may purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis (i.e., delivery and payment can take place between a month and 120 days after the date of the transaction). The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities and U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds. As stated in the Registration Statement, the Fund may not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (i) purchase securities of any issuer (except securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer; or (ii) acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer.10 In addition, the Fund may not purchase any securities which would cause 25% or more of its total assets to be invested in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry or group of industries, provided that this limitation does not apply to investments in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or shares of investment companies. According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek to qualify for treatment as a Regulated Investment Company (‘‘RIC’’) under the Internal Revenue Code.11 9 Pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Application, the Fund will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts or swap agreements. 10 This diversification standard is contained in Section 5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act. 11 According to the Registration Statement, one of several requirements for RIC qualification is that a Fund must receive at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income each year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to the Fund’s investments in stock, securities, foreign currencies and net income from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (the ‘‘90% Test’’). A second requirement for qualification as a RIC is that a Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each fiscal quarter of the Fund’s taxable year: (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with these other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets are invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnership (the ‘‘Asset Test’’). E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES4 37500 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 29, 2010 / Notices To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in highquality short-term debt securities and money market instruments. The Fund may be invested in these instruments for extended periods, depending on the Sub-Advisor’s assessment of market conditions. These debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. Government securities and repurchase agreements. Creations and redemptions of Shares occur in large specified blocks of Shares, referred to as ‘‘Creation Units’’. According to the Registration Statement, the shares of the Fund are ‘‘created’’ at their net asset value (‘‘NAV’’) by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of 25,000 shares or more. A ‘‘creator’’ enters into an authorized participant agreement (a ‘‘Participant Agreement’’) with the Fund’s distributor (the ‘‘Distributor’’) or a DTC participant that has executed a Participant Agreement with the Distributor (an ‘‘Authorized Participant’’), and deposits into the Fund a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and a specified amount of cash, together totaling the NAV of the Creation Unit(s), in exchange for 25,000 shares of the Fund (or multiples thereof). Similarly, Shares can only be redeemed in Creation Units, generally 25,000 shares or more, principally in-kind for a portfolio of securities held by the Fund and a specified amount of cash together totaling the NAV of the Creation Unit(s). Shares are not redeemable from the Fund except when aggregated in Creation Units. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received in a form prescribed in the Participant Agreement. According to the Registration Statement, the Trust reserves the right to offer an ‘‘all cash’’ option for creations and redemptions of Creation Units for the Fund. In addition, Creation Units may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain a cash deposit with the Trust at least equal to a specified percentage of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities. In each instance, transaction fees may be imposed that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with traditional in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with SEC requirements applicable to VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:55 Jun 28, 2010 Jkt 220001 management investment companies offering redeemable securities. The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing criteria under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange represents that, for initial and/or continued listing, the Fund will be in compliance with Rule 10A–3 12 under the Exchange Act, as provided by NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.3. A minimum of 100,000 Shares will be outstanding at the commencement of trading on the Exchange. The Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the Shares that the net asset value and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market participants at the same time. Availability of Information The Fund’s Web site (https:// www.advisorshares.com), which will be publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include a form of the Prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded. The Fund’s Web site will include additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, for the Fund, (1) daily trading volume, the prior business day’s reported closing price, NAV and midpoint of the bid/ask spread at the time of calculation of such NAV (the ‘‘Bid/ Ask Price’’),13 and a calculation of the premium and discount of the Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, and (2) data in chart format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for each of the four previous calendar quarters. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading Session on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the Disclosed Portfolio as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(2) that will form the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the business day.14 On a daily basis, for each portfolio security of the Fund, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the following information: Ticker symbol, name of security, number of shares held in the portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security in the portfolio. On a daily 12 17 CFR 240.10A–3. Bid/Ask Price of the Fund is determined using the highest bid and the lowest offer on the Exchange as of the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask Prices will be retained by the Fund and its service providers. 14 Under accounting procedures followed by the Fund, trades made on the prior business day (‘‘T’’) will be booked and reflected in NAV on the current business day (‘‘T+1’’). Accordingly, the Fund will be able to disclose at the beginning of the business day the portfolio that will form the basis for the NAV calculation at the end of the business day. 13 The PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 basis, the Advisor will disclose for each portfolio security or other financial instrument of the Fund the following information: Ticker symbol (if applicable), name of security or financial instrument, number of shares or dollar value of financial instruments held in the portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security or financial instrument in the portfolio. The Web site information will be publicly available at no charge. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities required to be delivered in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, will be publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the New York Stock Exchange (‘‘NYSE’’) via the National Securities Clearing Corporation. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The NAV of the Fund will normally be determined as of the close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4 p.m. Eastern Time) on each business day. Investors can also obtain the Trust’s Statement of Additional Information (‘‘SAI’’), the Fund’s Shareholder Reports, and its Form N–CSR and Form N–SAR, filed twice a year. The Trust’s SAI and Shareholder Reports are available free upon request from the Trust, and those documents and the Form N–CSR and Form N–SAR may be viewed on-screen or downloaded from the Commission’s Web site at https://www.sec.gov. Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares is and will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers’ computer screens and other electronic services. Information regarding the previous day’s closing price and trading volume information will be published daily in the financial section of newspapers. Quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be available via the Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’) high-speed line. In addition, the Portfolio Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (c)(3), will be disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Core Trading Session. The dissemination of the Portfolio Indicative Value, together with the Disclosed Portfolio, will allow investors to determine the value of the underlying portfolio of the Fund on a daily basis and to provide a close estimate of that value throughout the trading day. Additional information regarding the Trust and the Shares, including investment strategies, risks, creation and redemption procedures, fees, portfolio E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 29, 2010 / Notices holdings disclosure policies, distributions and taxes is included in the Registration Statement. All terms relating to the Fund that are referred to, but not defined in, this proposed rule change are defined in the Registration Statement. Trading Halts With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend trading in the Shares of the Fund.15 Trading in Shares of the Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12 have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) The extent to which trading is not occurring in the securities comprising the Disclosed Portfolio and/ or the financial instruments of the Fund; or (2) whether other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present. Trading in the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted. emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES4 Trading Rules The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange’s existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time in accordance with NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.34 (Opening, Core, and Late Trading Sessions). The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. Surveillance The Exchange intends to utilize its existing surveillance procedures applicable to derivative products (which include Managed Fund Shares) to monitor trading in the Shares. The Exchange represents that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange’s current trading surveillance focuses on detecting securities trading outside their normal patterns. When such situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows 15 See NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12, Commentary .04. VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:55 Jun 28, 2010 Jkt 220001 and investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations. The Exchange may obtain information via the Intermarket Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’) from other exchanges that are members of ISG.16 In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees. Information Bulletin Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its Equity Trading Permit (‘‘ETP’’) Holders in an Information Bulletin (‘‘Bulletin’’) of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Unit aggregations (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) NYSE Arca Equities Rule 9.2(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) the risks involved in trading the Shares during the Opening and Late Trading Sessions when an updated Portfolio Indicative Value will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (4) how information regarding the Portfolio Indicative Value is disseminated; (5) the requirement that ETP Holders deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued Shares prior to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; and (6) trading information. In addition, the Bulletin will reference that the Fund is subject to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. The Bulletin will discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Exchange Act. The Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 4 p.m. Eastern Time each trading day. 2. Statutory Basis The basis under the Exchange Act for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) 17 that an exchange have rules that are designed to prevent fraudulent and 16 For a list of the current members of ISG, see https://www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the Disclosed Portfolio for the Fund may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. See e-mail from Timothy J. Malinowski, Senior Director, Exchange, to Michou H.M. Nguyen, Special Counsel, Commission, dated June 21, 2010. 17 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 37501 manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of additional types of activelymanaged exchange-traded products that will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace. B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Burden on Competition The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will: (A) By order approve the proposed rule change, or (B) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved. The Exchange has requested accelerated approval of this proposed rule change prior to the 30th day after the date of publication of notice in the Federal Register. The Commission is considering granting accelerated approval of the proposed rule change at the end of a 15-day comment period. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1 37502 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 124 / Tuesday, June 29, 2010 / Notices Electronic Comments • Use the Commission’s Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml); or • Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–57 on the subject line. Paper Comments • Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–62350; File No. SR– NYSEArca–2010–49] Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change and Amendment No. 1 Thereto Regarding Listing and Trading of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund June 22, 2010. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that, on June 10, All submissions should refer to File 2010, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–57. This or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) filed with the file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule Commission process and review your change as described in Items I, II, and comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will III below, which Items have been post all comments on the Commission’s prepared by the Exchange. On June 18, 2010, the Exchange filed Amendment Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/ No. 1 to the proposed rule change. The rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the Commission is publishing this notice to submission, all subsequent solicit comments on the proposed rule amendments, all written statements change, as amended, from interested with respect to the proposed rule persons. change that are filed with the emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES4 Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR– NYSEArca–2010–57 and should be submitted on or before July 14, 2010. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.18 Florence E. Harmon, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2010–15749 Filed 6–28–10; 8:45 am] I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to list and trade the shares of the following fund of the WisdomTree Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’) under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (‘‘Managed Fund Shares’’): WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund (the ‘‘Fund’’). The shares of the Fund are collectively referred to herein as the ‘‘Shares.’’ The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange, the Commission’s Public Reference Room, and https://www.nyse.com. II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements. BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 1 15 18 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). VerDate Mar<15>2010 19:55 Jun 28, 2010 2 17 Jkt 220001 PO 00000 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). CFR 240.19b–4. Frm 00128 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600, which governs the listing and trading of Managed Fund Shares on the Exchange.3 The Fund will be an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The Shares will be offered by the Trust, which was established as a Delaware statutory trust on December 15, 2005. The Trust is registered with the Commission as an investment company and the Fund has filed a registration statement on Form N–1A (‘‘Registration Statement’’) with the Commission.4 Description of the Shares and the Fund WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (‘‘WisdomTree Asset Management’’) is the investment adviser (‘‘Adviser’’) to the Fund.5 WisdomTree Asset Management is not affiliated with any broker-dealer. Mellon Capital Management Corporation (‘‘MCM’’) serves as sub-adviser for the Fund (‘‘Sub-Adviser’’). The Bank of New York Mellon is the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the Trust. ALPS Distributors, Inc. serves as the distributor for the Trust.6 3 The Commission approved NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 and the listing and trading of certain funds of the PowerShares Actively Managed Funds Trust on the Exchange pursuant to Rule 8.600 in Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57619 (April 4, 2008), 73 FR 19544 (April 10, 2008) (SR– NYSEArca–2008–25). The Commission also previously approved listing and trading on the Exchange of a number of actively managed funds under Rule 8.600. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2008–31) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve actively-managed funds of the WisdomTree Trust); 58564 (September 17, 2008), 73 FR 55194 (September 24, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2008–86) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Markets Fund). 4 See Post-Effective Amendment No. 32 to Registration Statement on Form N–1A for the Trust, dated March 19, 2010 (File Nos. 333–132380 and 811–21864), as amended June 8, 2010. The descriptions of the Fund and the Shares contained herein are based on information in the Registration Statement. 5 WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (‘‘WisdomTree Investments’’) is the parent company of WisdomTree Asset Management. 6 The Commission has issued an order granting certain exemptive relief to the Trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a– 1) (‘‘1940 Act’’). See Investment Company Act Release No. 28171 (October 27, 2008) (File No. 812– 13458). In compliance with Commentary .05 to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600, which applies to Managed Fund Shares based on an international or global portfolio, the Trust’s application for exemptive relief under the 1940 Act states that the E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM 29JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37498-37502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-15749]



[[Page 37498]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-62344; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2010-57]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing 
of Proposed Rule Change Regarding Listing and Trading Shares of 
AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF

June 21, 2010.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby 
given that on June 16, 2010, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' or the 
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 
``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, 
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory 
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit 
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
    \3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following under NYSE 
Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (``Managed Fund Shares''): AdvisorShares WCM/
BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF. The text of the proposed rule change 
is available on the Exchange's Web site at https://www.nyse.com, at the 
Exchange's principal office and at the Commission's Public Reference 
Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization 
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the 
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the 
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at 
the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared 
summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most 
significant parts of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following Managed Fund 
Shares \4\ (``Shares'') under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600: 
AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth ADR ETF (the ``Fund'').\5\ 
The Shares will be offered by AdvisorShares Trust (the ``Trust''), a 
statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and 
registered with the Commission as an open-end management investment 
company.\6\
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    \4\ A Managed Fund Share is a security that represents an 
interest in an investment company registered under the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) (``1940 Act'') organized as an 
open-end investment company or similar entity that invests in a 
portfolio of securities selected by its investment advisor 
consistent with its investment objectives and policies. In contrast, 
an open-end investment company that issues Investment Company Units, 
listed and traded on the Exchange under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 
5.2(j)(3), seeks to provide investment results that correspond 
generally to the price and yield performance of a specific foreign 
or domestic stock index, fixed income securities index or 
combination thereof.
    \5\ The Commission previously approved listing and trading on 
the Exchange of the following actively managed funds under Rule 
8.600. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 
2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2008-31) (order 
approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve actively-managed 
funds of the WisdomTree Trust); 59826 (April 28, 2009), 74 FR 20512 
(May 4, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-22) (order approving Exchange 
listing and trading of Grail American Beacon Large Cap Value ETF); 
60975 (November 10, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-83) (order approving 
listing of Grail American Beacon International Equity ETF). The 
Exchange previously filed a proposed rule change relating to listing 
on the Exchange of the AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused Growth 
ADR ETF in File No. SR-NYSEArca-2010-07. See Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 61642 (March 3, 2010), 75 FR 11216 (March 10, 2010). No 
comments were received on the proposal. The Exchange withdrew the 
proposed rule change on April 9, 2010. See Securities Exchange Act 
Release No. 61953 (April 21, 2010), 75 FR 22169 (April 27, 2010).
    \6\ The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On April 23, 
2010, the Trust filed with the Commission Post-Effective Amendment 
No. 5 to Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a), 
and under the 1940 Act relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333-157876 
and 811-22110) (the ``Registration Statement''). The Trust has also 
filed an Amended Application for an Order under Section 6(c) of the 
1940 Act for exemptions from various provisions of the 1940 Act and 
rules thereunder (File No. 812-13677 dated May 14, 2010) 
(``Exemptive Application''). The description of the operation of the 
Trust and the Fund herein is based on the Registration Statement.
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    The investment advisor to the Fund is AdvisorShares Investments, 
LLC (the ``Advisor''). WCM Investment Management (``WCM'') is the sub-
advisor (``Sub-Advisor'') to the Fund and the portfolio manager. The 
Sub-Advisor selects securities for the Fund in which to invest pursuant 
to an ``active'' management strategy for security selection and 
portfolio construction. The Fund will periodically change the 
composition of its portfolio to best meet its investment objective. 
Neither the Advisor nor the Sub-Advisor is affiliated with a broker-
dealer.\7\
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    \7\ With respect to the Fund, the Exchange represents that the 
Advisor, as the investment advisor of the Fund, as well as the Sub-
Advisor to the Fund and their related personnel, are subject to 
Investment Advisers Act Rule 204A-1. This Rule specifically requires 
the adoption of a code of ethics by an investment advisor to 
include, at a minimum: (i) Standards of business conduct that 
reflect the firm's/personnel fiduciary obligations; (ii) provisions 
requiring supervised persons to comply with applicable federal 
securities laws; (iii) provisions that require all access persons to 
report, and the firm to review, their personal securities 
transactions and holdings periodically as specifically set forth in 
Rule 204A-1; (iv) provisions requiring supervised persons to report 
any violations of the code of ethics promptly to the chief 
compliance officer (``CCO'') or, provided the CCO also receives 
reports of all violations, to other persons designated in the code 
of ethics; and (v) provisions requiring the investment advisor to 
provide each of the supervised persons with a copy of the code of 
ethics with an acknowledgement by said supervised persons. In 
addition, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful for 
an investment advisor to provide investment advice to clients unless 
such investment advisor has (i) adopted and implemented written 
policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation, by 
the investment advisor and its supervised persons, of the Advisers 
Act and the Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii) implemented, 
at a minimum, an annual review regarding the adequacy of the 
policies and procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (i) 
above and the effectiveness of their implementation; and (iii) 
designated an individual (who is a supervised person) responsible 
for administering the policies and procedures adopted under 
subparagraph (i) above.
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    According to the Registration Statement, the Fund's investment 
objective is long-term capital appreciation above international 
benchmarks such as the BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index, the Fund's primary 
benchmark, and the MSCI EAFE Index, the Fund's secondary benchmark.
    WCM seeks to achieve the Fund's investment objective by selecting a 
portfolio of U.S. traded securities of non-U.S. organizations included 
in the BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index. The BNY Mellon Classic ADR Index 
predominantly includes American Depositary Receipts (``ADRs'') and in 
addition includes other Depositary Receipts (``DRs''), which include 
Global Depositary Receipts (``GDRs''), Euro Depositary Receipts (``Euro 
DRs'') and New York Shares (``NYSs'').\8\
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    \8\ According to the Registration Statement, DRs, which include 
ADRs, GDRs, Euro DRs and NYSs, are negotiable securities that 
generally represent a non-U.S. company's publicly traded equity or 
debt. Depositary Receipts may be purchased in the U.S. secondary 
trading market. They may trade freely, just like any other security, 
either on an exchange or in the over-the-counter market. Although 
typically denominated in U.S. dollars, Depositary Receipts can also 
be denominated in Euros. Depositary Receipts can trade on all U.S. 
stock exchanges as well as on many European stock exchanges.

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[[Page 37499]]

The Investment Process
    According to the Registration Statement, WCM employs a team 
approach through Investment Strategy Group, consisting of four senior 
investment professionals (the ``Portfolio Managers''). This team 
establishes portfolio guidelines for sector and industry analysis and 
develops the Fund's portfolio. The Portfolio Managers analyze the major 
trends in the global economy in order to identify those economic 
sectors and industries that are most likely to benefit. According to 
the Registration Statement, typical themes incorporated in the 
Portfolio Managers' investment process include demographics, global 
commerce, outsourcing, the growing global middle class and the 
proliferation of technology. A portfolio strategy is then implemented 
that will best capitalize on these investment themes and subsequent 
expected growth of the underlying assets. The Fund's portfolio will 
typically have fewer than 30 companies. All buy and sell decisions are 
made by the Portfolio Managers.
Portfolio Construction
    According to the Registration Statement, WCM seeks non-U.S. 
domiciled quality growth businesses with superior growth prospects, 
high returns on invested capital and low or no debt, among other 
characteristics, as described in the Registration Statement. WCM 
focuses its attention on conventional growth sectors such as 
technology, consumer discretionary and staples, and healthcare.
    The Fund utilizes quantitative analysis that entails backward-
looking screens to help narrow the non-U.S. universe of companies in 
which the Fund invests. The Fund looks for companies with market 
capitalization of $3.5 billion or greater within traditional growth 
sectors, and that have high returns on invested capital; low or no 
debt; high gross, operating margins; and a history of sustainable 
growth. Typical portfolio construction would entail exposure to 15 or 
more industries with initial positions of approximately 2-5%; maximum 
position size of approximately 10%; maximum sector size of 
approximately 45%; maximum industry exposure of approximately 15%; and 
maximum emerging markets exposure of approximately 35%.
    The Fund will under normal circumstances have at least 80% of its 
total assets invested in ADRs. The Fund may invest in equity 
securities, including common and preferred stock, warrants, convertible 
securities and Master Limited Partnerships. The Fund's portfolio will 
consist primarily of ADRs and the Fund will not invest in non-U.S. 
equity securities outside of U.S. markets.
    According to the Registration Statement, the composition of the 
Fund's portfolio, on a continual basis, will be subject to the 
following:
    (1) Component stocks that in the aggregate account for at least 90% 
of the weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum market value 
of at least $100 million;
    (2) Component stocks that in the aggregate account for at least 70% 
of the weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum global monthly 
trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum global notional volume 
traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last six months;
    (3) A minimum of 20 component stocks of which the most heavily 
weighted component stock shall not exceed 25% of the weight of the 
portfolio, and the five most heavily weighted component stocks shall 
not exceed 60% of the weight of the portfolio; and
    (4) Each non-U.S. equity security underlying ADRs held by the Fund 
will be listed and traded on an exchange that has last-sale reporting.
    In addition, the Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in 
illiquid securities. For this purpose, ``illiquid securities'' are 
securities that the Fund may not sell or dispose of within seven days 
in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which 
the Fund has valued the securities.
    According to the Registration Statement, the Fund may not purchase 
or sell commodities or commodity contracts unless acquired as a result 
of ownership of securities or other instruments issued by persons that 
purchase or sell commodities or commodities contracts; but this shall 
not prevent the Fund from purchasing, selling and entering into 
financial futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of 
securities, interest rates and currencies), options on financial 
futures contracts (including futures contracts on indices of 
securities, interest rates and currencies), warrants, swaps, forward 
contracts, foreign currency spot and forward contracts or other 
derivative instruments that are not related to physical commodities.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Application, the Fund 
will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts or swap 
agreements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Fund, from time to time, in the ordinary course of business, 
may purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis 
(i.e., delivery and payment can take place between a month and 120 days 
after the date of the transaction). The Fund may invest in U.S. 
government securities and U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds.
    As stated in the Registration Statement, the Fund may not, with 
respect to 75% of its total assets, (i) purchase securities of any 
issuer (except securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, 
its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 5% of its 
total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer; or 
(ii) acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any 
one issuer.\10\ In addition, the Fund may not purchase any securities 
which would cause 25% or more of its total assets to be invested in the 
securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business 
activities in the same industry or group of industries, provided that 
this limitation does not apply to investments in securities issued or 
guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, 
or shares of investment companies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ This diversification standard is contained in Section 
5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek to 
qualify for treatment as a Regulated Investment Company (``RIC'') under 
the Internal Revenue Code.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ According to the Registration Statement, one of several 
requirements for RIC qualification is that a Fund must receive at 
least 90% of the Fund's gross income each year from dividends, 
interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the 
sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign 
currencies, or other income derived with respect to the Fund's 
investments in stock, securities, foreign currencies and net income 
from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (the 
``90% Test''). A second requirement for qualification as a RIC is 
that a Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each 
fiscal quarter of the Fund's taxable year: (a) at least 50% of the 
market value of the Fund's total assets is represented by cash and 
cash items, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs, 
and other securities, with these other securities limited, in 
respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the 
value of the Fund's total assets or 10% of the outstanding voting 
securities of such issuer; and (b) not more than 25% of the value of 
its total assets are invested in the securities (other than U.S. 
Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer 
or two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged 
in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the 
securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnership (the 
``Asset Test'').

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[[Page 37500]]

    To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other 
conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without 
limitation, in high-quality short-term debt securities and money market 
instruments. The Fund may be invested in these instruments for extended 
periods, depending on the Sub-Advisor's assessment of market 
conditions. These debt securities and money market instruments include 
shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of 
deposit, bankers' acceptances, U.S. Government securities and 
repurchase agreements.
    Creations and redemptions of Shares occur in large specified blocks 
of Shares, referred to as ``Creation Units''. According to the 
Registration Statement, the shares of the Fund are ``created'' at their 
net asset value (``NAV'') by market makers, large investors and 
institutions only in block-size Creation Units of 25,000 shares or 
more. A ``creator'' enters into an authorized participant agreement (a 
``Participant Agreement'') with the Fund's distributor (the 
``Distributor'') or a DTC participant that has executed a Participant 
Agreement with the Distributor (an ``Authorized Participant''), and 
deposits into the Fund a portfolio of securities closely approximating 
the holdings of the Fund and a specified amount of cash, together 
totaling the NAV of the Creation Unit(s), in exchange for 25,000 shares 
of the Fund (or multiples thereof). Similarly, Shares can only be 
redeemed in Creation Units, generally 25,000 shares or more, 
principally in-kind for a portfolio of securities held by the Fund and 
a specified amount of cash together totaling the NAV of the Creation 
Unit(s). Shares are not redeemable from the Fund except when aggregated 
in Creation Units. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur 
are based on the next calculation of NAV after an order is received in 
a form prescribed in the Participant Agreement.
    According to the Registration Statement, the Trust reserves the 
right to offer an ``all cash'' option for creations and redemptions of 
Creation Units for the Fund. In addition, Creation Units may be issued 
in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various 
conditions, including a requirement to maintain a cash deposit with the 
Trust at least equal to a specified percentage of the market value of 
the missing Deposit Securities. In each instance, transaction fees may 
be imposed that will be higher than the transaction fees associated 
with traditional in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, such 
fees will be limited in accordance with SEC requirements applicable to 
management investment companies offering redeemable securities.
    The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing 
criteria under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange represents 
that, for initial and/or continued listing, the Fund will be in 
compliance with Rule 10A-3 \12\ under the Exchange Act, as provided by 
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.3. A minimum of 100,000 Shares will be 
outstanding at the commencement of trading on the Exchange. The 
Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the Shares 
that the net asset value and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made 
available to all market participants at the same time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Availability of Information
    The Fund's Web site (https://www.advisorshares.com), which will be 
publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include 
a form of the Prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded. The 
Fund's Web site will include additional quantitative information 
updated on a daily basis, including, for the Fund, (1) daily trading 
volume, the prior business day's reported closing price, NAV and mid-
point of the bid/ask spread at the time of calculation of such NAV (the 
``Bid/Ask Price''),\13\ and a calculation of the premium and discount 
of the Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, and (2) data in chart format 
displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the 
daily Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for 
each of the four previous calendar quarters. On each business day, 
before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading Session on 
the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the Disclosed 
Portfolio as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(2) that will 
form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the 
business day.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ The Bid/Ask Price of the Fund is determined using the 
highest bid and the lowest offer on the Exchange as of the time of 
calculation of the Fund's NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask 
Prices will be retained by the Fund and its service providers.
    \14\ Under accounting procedures followed by the Fund, trades 
made on the prior business day (``T'') will be booked and reflected 
in NAV on the current business day (``T+1''). Accordingly, the Fund 
will be able to disclose at the beginning of the business day the 
portfolio that will form the basis for the NAV calculation at the 
end of the business day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On a daily basis, for each portfolio security of the Fund, the Fund 
will disclose on its Web site the following information: Ticker symbol, 
name of security, number of shares held in the portfolio, and 
percentage weighting of the security in the portfolio. On a daily 
basis, the Advisor will disclose for each portfolio security or other 
financial instrument of the Fund the following information: Ticker 
symbol (if applicable), name of security or financial instrument, 
number of shares or dollar value of financial instruments held in the 
portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security or financial 
instrument in the portfolio. The Web site information will be publicly 
available at no charge.
    In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security 
names and share quantities required to be delivered in exchange for 
Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, will 
be publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the New York 
Stock Exchange (``NYSE'') via the National Securities Clearing 
Corporation. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The 
NAV of the Fund will normally be determined as of the close of the 
regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4 p.m. Eastern Time) on 
each business day.
    Investors can also obtain the Trust's Statement of Additional 
Information (``SAI''), the Fund's Shareholder Reports, and its Form N-
CSR and Form N-SAR, filed twice a year. The Trust's SAI and Shareholder 
Reports are available free upon request from the Trust, and those 
documents and the Form N-CSR and Form N-SAR may be viewed on-screen or 
downloaded from the Commission's Web site at https://www.sec.gov. 
Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares is 
and will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the 
day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services. 
Information regarding the previous day's closing price and trading 
volume information will be published daily in the financial section of 
newspapers. Quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be 
available via the Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA'') high-speed 
line. In addition, the Portfolio Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE 
Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (c)(3), will be disseminated by one or more 
major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Core 
Trading Session. The dissemination of the Portfolio Indicative Value, 
together with the Disclosed Portfolio, will allow investors to 
determine the value of the underlying portfolio of the Fund on a daily 
basis and to provide a close estimate of that value throughout the 
trading day.
    Additional information regarding the Trust and the Shares, 
including investment strategies, risks, creation and redemption 
procedures, fees, portfolio

[[Page 37501]]

holdings disclosure policies, distributions and taxes is included in 
the Registration Statement. All terms relating to the Fund that are 
referred to, but not defined in, this proposed rule change are defined 
in the Registration Statement.
Trading Halts
    With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all 
relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend 
trading in the Shares of the Fund.\15\ Trading in Shares of the Fund 
will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities 
Rule 7.12 have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of 
market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, 
make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) The 
extent to which trading is not occurring in the securities comprising 
the Disclosed Portfolio and/or the financial instruments of the Fund; 
or (2) whether other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to 
the maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present. Trading in 
the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(d)(2)(D), 
which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be 
halted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12, Commentary .04.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trading Rules
    The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus 
rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing 
rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on 
the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time in 
accordance with NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.34 (Opening, Core, and Late 
Trading Sessions). The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate 
transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions.
Surveillance
    The Exchange intends to utilize its existing surveillance 
procedures applicable to derivative products (which include Managed 
Fund Shares) to monitor trading in the Shares. The Exchange represents 
that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading 
of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect 
violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws.
    The Exchange's current trading surveillance focuses on detecting 
securities trading outside their normal patterns. When such situations 
are detected, surveillance analysis follows and investigations are 
opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of all relevant 
parties for all relevant trading violations.
    The Exchange may obtain information via the Intermarket 
Surveillance Group (``ISG'') from other exchanges that are members of 
ISG.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see https://
www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the 
Disclosed Portfolio for the Fund may trade on markets that are 
members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a 
comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. See e-mail from 
Timothy J. Malinowski, Senior Director, Exchange, to Michou H.M. 
Nguyen, Special Counsel, Commission, dated June 21, 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the 
distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.
Information Bulletin
    Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its 
Equity Trading Permit (``ETP'') Holders in an Information Bulletin 
(``Bulletin'') of the special characteristics and risks associated with 
trading the Shares. Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss the 
following: (1) The procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares 
in Creation Unit aggregations (and that Shares are not individually 
redeemable); (2) NYSE Arca Equities Rule 9.2(a), which imposes a duty 
of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the essential facts 
relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) the risks 
involved in trading the Shares during the Opening and Late Trading 
Sessions when an updated Portfolio Indicative Value will not be 
calculated or publicly disseminated; (4) how information regarding the 
Portfolio Indicative Value is disseminated; (5) the requirement that 
ETP Holders deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued 
Shares prior to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; 
and (6) trading information.
    In addition, the Bulletin will reference that the Fund is subject 
to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. 
The Bulletin will discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive 
relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Exchange Act. 
The Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be 
calculated after 4 p.m. Eastern Time each trading day.
2. Statutory Basis
    The basis under the Exchange Act for this proposed rule change is 
the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \17\ that an exchange have rules 
that are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and 
practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove 
impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market 
and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The 
Exchange believes that the proposed rule change will facilitate the 
listing and trading of additional types of actively-managed exchange-
traded products that will enhance competition among market 
participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will 
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate 
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the 
proposed rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may 
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to 
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to 
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
    (A) By order approve the proposed rule change, or
    (B) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule 
change should be disapproved.
    The Exchange has requested accelerated approval of this proposed 
rule change prior to the 30th day after the date of publication of 
notice in the Federal Register. The Commission is considering granting 
accelerated approval of the proposed rule change at the end of a 15-day 
comment period.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

[[Page 37502]]

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2010-57 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2010-57. This 
file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. 
To help the Commission process and review your comments more 
efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all 
comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, 
all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that 
are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating 
to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, 
other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance 
with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site 
viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between 
the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be 
available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the 
Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the 
Commission does not edit personal identifying information from 
submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make 
available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-
NYSEArca-2010-57 and should be submitted on or before July 14, 2010.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\18\
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    \18\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-15749 Filed 6-28-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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